The joke that makes The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear great is relatively subtle. In fact, as a child, watching this movie over and over again, it went over my head. Only recently, after releasing the episode of Revisited dedicated to the original Naked Gun and discussing the sequels with a friend, did he clue me in on why the sequel is so funny. The whole point of the movie is that the bad guys, a conglomerate of nuclear, coal and oil industry baddies, want to prevent Richard Griffith’s Dr Meinheimer from presenting a speech to the president urging a change to the country’s oil policy. Meinheimer is kidnapped and replaced by a double to stop this speech from happening. Our hero, Leslie Nielsen’s Frank Drebin, has to save Meinheimer so he can present his speech, which he eventually does. But, the best...
- 2/4/2024
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Riggs and Murtagh. Tango and Cash. Starsky and Hutch. John McClane. Frank Bullitt. Dirty Harry Callahan. While those are all tough movie cops, none of them are as hard as nails was perhaps the toughest, most dangerous movie cop of all time… Frank Drebin as played by Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
Jump back to 1980. Leslie Nielsen was a character actor known for playing deadpan, ultra-serious roles. He was typically the bad guy of the week on TV shows and TV movies, and his biggest claim to fame was playing the captain in 1956s Forbidden Planet. His career was middling; David Zucker, Jim Abrams and Jerry Zucker, aka Zaz – Zucker-Abrams-Zucker – wanted to cast him in their movie Airplane. He would play the third lead, a deadpan doctor who would perfectly ape similar roles he played in movies like The Poseidon Adventure. While the studio initially balked,...
Jump back to 1980. Leslie Nielsen was a character actor known for playing deadpan, ultra-serious roles. He was typically the bad guy of the week on TV shows and TV movies, and his biggest claim to fame was playing the captain in 1956s Forbidden Planet. His career was middling; David Zucker, Jim Abrams and Jerry Zucker, aka Zaz – Zucker-Abrams-Zucker – wanted to cast him in their movie Airplane. He would play the third lead, a deadpan doctor who would perfectly ape similar roles he played in movies like The Poseidon Adventure. While the studio initially balked,...
- 1/2/2024
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
By Lee Pfeiffer
I know I'm not only getting old, but I'm there already. That's apparent in the fact that I remember seeing the 1981 comedy "All Night Long" at an advanced critic's screening in New York. Back in those prehistoric days before the internet, you had to read trade industry publications to get the background story or buzz on forthcoming films. Sure, the general public was always aware that expensive epics were experiencing production problems, but everyday movie fans were generally unaware of the scuttlebutt on mid-range fare. Within industry circles, however, the word-of-mouth was negative about the film despite the fact that it starred Gene Hackman and Barbra Streisand, both then very much at the peak of their acting careers. The film had gone through some almost surrealistic production problems that involved high profile people and had come in massively over the original budget estimate. I recalled thinking the...
I know I'm not only getting old, but I'm there already. That's apparent in the fact that I remember seeing the 1981 comedy "All Night Long" at an advanced critic's screening in New York. Back in those prehistoric days before the internet, you had to read trade industry publications to get the background story or buzz on forthcoming films. Sure, the general public was always aware that expensive epics were experiencing production problems, but everyday movie fans were generally unaware of the scuttlebutt on mid-range fare. Within industry circles, however, the word-of-mouth was negative about the film despite the fact that it starred Gene Hackman and Barbra Streisand, both then very much at the peak of their acting careers. The film had gone through some almost surrealistic production problems that involved high profile people and had come in massively over the original budget estimate. I recalled thinking the...
- 3/6/2022
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
John Hughes’ breakthrough writing-directing hit still carries a glow that defuses its rougher edges, making it one of the best of ’80s Teen comedies. Even the savvy Soraya Roberts cuts it some slack, thanks to the authentic presence and fine performance of Molly Ringwald. Hughes’ amusing script comes up with at least ten moments that would have made Preston Sturges laugh, and his perfect casting for personalities young and old makes his direction look inspired. With great turns by Anthony Michael Hall, Haviland Morris, Debbie Pollack, Gedde Watanabe, Paul Dooley, and Michael Schoeffling.
Sixteen Candles
Special Collector’s Edition Blu-ray
Arrow Video
1984 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 94, 92 min. / Street Date April 14, 2020 / Available from Arrow Video / 18.99
Starring: Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Justin Henry, Michael Schoeffling, Haviland Morris, Gedde Watanabe, Paul Dooley, Carlin Glynn, Blanche Baker, Edward Andrews, Carole Cook, Max Showalter, John Cusack, Debbie Pollack, Joan Cusack, Brian Doyle-Murray, Jami Gertz, John Kapelos,...
Sixteen Candles
Special Collector’s Edition Blu-ray
Arrow Video
1984 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 94, 92 min. / Street Date April 14, 2020 / Available from Arrow Video / 18.99
Starring: Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Justin Henry, Michael Schoeffling, Haviland Morris, Gedde Watanabe, Paul Dooley, Carlin Glynn, Blanche Baker, Edward Andrews, Carole Cook, Max Showalter, John Cusack, Debbie Pollack, Joan Cusack, Brian Doyle-Murray, Jami Gertz, John Kapelos,...
- 6/6/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Woo Hoo! We’re girl-starved teen nerds, and we’re cooking up our own living sex toy with our home computers! John Hughes turns an infantile idea into one of his not-bad teen angst comedies, as Kelly LeBrock materializes to fulfill their wildest dreams. The idea is of course transformed into a basically benign coming-of age story … with the underlying message that we’d not all mind having Ms. LeBrock reformat our hard drive. It all begins as a bad arrested-development joke, but Hughes’ audaciousness and fine production values make this a nostalgic favorite for folk that miss their (ugh) 1980s memories.
Weird Science
Blu-ray
Arrow Video
1985 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 94 min. / Street Date July 23, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Anthony Michael Hall, Kelly LeBrock, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Bill Paxton, Suzanne Snyder, Judie Aronson, Robert Downey Jr., Robert Rusler.
Cinematography: Matthew F. Leonetti
Film Editor: Chris Lebenzon, Scott Wallace, Mark Warner
Original Music: Ira Newborn
From...
Weird Science
Blu-ray
Arrow Video
1985 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 94 min. / Street Date July 23, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Anthony Michael Hall, Kelly LeBrock, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Bill Paxton, Suzanne Snyder, Judie Aronson, Robert Downey Jr., Robert Rusler.
Cinematography: Matthew F. Leonetti
Film Editor: Chris Lebenzon, Scott Wallace, Mark Warner
Original Music: Ira Newborn
From...
- 7/23/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
They Went From Zeroes To Heroes In One Fantastic Weekend.
If you can t get a date… make one! After proving himself the king of heartfelt teen flicks with Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, writer-director John Hughes infused the genre with a hefty dose of wacked-out sci-fi comedy in Weird Science, a film where every teenage boy s wildest fantasies come to life.
Perenially picked-on high school nerds Gary and Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) are sick of their status at the bottom of the social food chain. Using Wyatt s computer, the two hatch a plan to create their dream woman and following a massive power surge, that woman unexpectedly appears in the form of Lisa (Kelly LeBrock). Gorgeous, intelligent, and blessed with limitless magic powers, Lisa makes the boys dreams come true… but what about Wyatt s gun-toting psycho older brother Chet (Bill Paxton), and the two bullies (Robert...
If you can t get a date… make one! After proving himself the king of heartfelt teen flicks with Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, writer-director John Hughes infused the genre with a hefty dose of wacked-out sci-fi comedy in Weird Science, a film where every teenage boy s wildest fantasies come to life.
Perenially picked-on high school nerds Gary and Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) are sick of their status at the bottom of the social food chain. Using Wyatt s computer, the two hatch a plan to create their dream woman and following a massive power surge, that woman unexpectedly appears in the form of Lisa (Kelly LeBrock). Gorgeous, intelligent, and blessed with limitless magic powers, Lisa makes the boys dreams come true… but what about Wyatt s gun-toting psycho older brother Chet (Bill Paxton), and the two bullies (Robert...
- 7/2/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
After three decades of being forced to hire Yello to ride in your backseat, there will soon be an easier way to cruise the streets to the sounds of ’80s lust anthem “Oh Yeah.” La-La Land Records has announced a Sept. 13 debut for the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off soundtrack—the first official release of its kind, following 30 years of cobbled-together mix-tapes, YouTube playlists, Japanese bootlegs, and awkward negotiations with Swiss synthpop musicians. First hinted at back in June, the now-confirmed soundtrack will arrive in a limited edition of just 5,000 copies, and it features not only familiar songs like the aforementioned “Oh Yeah” and Wayne Newton’s “Danke Schoen,” but also Ira Newborn’s score along with alternate and unused source cues.
Here’s the full track list, according to Film Music Reporter:
1. Love Missile F1-11 (Ultraviolence Mix) – Sigue Sigue Sputnik (6:58)
2. Oh ...
Here’s the full track list, according to Film Music Reporter:
1. Love Missile F1-11 (Ultraviolence Mix) – Sigue Sigue Sputnik (6:58)
2. Oh ...
- 9/6/2016
- by Sean O'Neal
- avclub.com
From a range of eras and genres, here's Jenny and Alex's light-hearted pick of 50 great opening title sequences from the movies...
Odd List
We don’t go to the cinema much, because we hate people. We also don’t go because there’s always the risk of accidentally going to see the wrong film. It's not helped by the fact that there's no way of telling until it’s too late, because there are no bloody opening credits on lots of modern films. And by the time you do realise, you’ve eaten all your popcorn and you can’t be bothered to move.
The movies on this list won’t give you that problem. These opening credits are perfect scene setters for the movies that follow, so you won’t have to worry about awkward popcorn wasting moments. It's not a top 50, rather a selection of 50 interesting credits sequences,...
Odd List
We don’t go to the cinema much, because we hate people. We also don’t go because there’s always the risk of accidentally going to see the wrong film. It's not helped by the fact that there's no way of telling until it’s too late, because there are no bloody opening credits on lots of modern films. And by the time you do realise, you’ve eaten all your popcorn and you can’t be bothered to move.
The movies on this list won’t give you that problem. These opening credits are perfect scene setters for the movies that follow, so you won’t have to worry about awkward popcorn wasting moments. It's not a top 50, rather a selection of 50 interesting credits sequences,...
- 6/25/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Chicago – John Hughes’s creative peak in the 1980s was brought about by a great deal of writing in a very small period of time. According to legend, Hughes wrote the script for his 1986 cult classic, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” in only seven days while under the threat of a writer’s strike. He was gifted at churning out films, but his prolific nature caused him to noticeably repeat himself.
Like “Home Alone,” the box office monster that ultimately tarnished Hughes’s career, “Bueller” is an infectiously silly exercise in wish fulfillment. It lacks much of the insight that fueled his influential portraits of adolescent hell (such as his lovely debut, “Sixteen Candles”), opting for a cartoonish battle of wits between a smart-aleck student, Ferris (Matthew Broderick), and his vengeful principal (Jeffrey Jones). The film often plays like a Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner cartoon crossed with a Chicago travelogue,...
Like “Home Alone,” the box office monster that ultimately tarnished Hughes’s career, “Bueller” is an infectiously silly exercise in wish fulfillment. It lacks much of the insight that fueled his influential portraits of adolescent hell (such as his lovely debut, “Sixteen Candles”), opting for a cartoonish battle of wits between a smart-aleck student, Ferris (Matthew Broderick), and his vengeful principal (Jeffrey Jones). The film often plays like a Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner cartoon crossed with a Chicago travelogue,...
- 8/10/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
John Hughes, probably one of the most recognized and regarded filmmakers to represent my generation, died of a heart attack at age 59 in New York this morning.
In case you aren't familiar with his work, Hughes was responsible for writing and directing some of the greatest staple teen dramedy films of the 1980's including "Sixteen Candles", "The Breakfast Club", and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". He also wrote and directed several cinematic classics like "Trains, Planes, and Automobiles", "Uncle Buck", and "Weird Science".
Hughes' films often contained eclectic scores by Ira Newborn mixed with excellent while obscure source material, the most memorable probably being the synth-poppy "Bueller", which combined Newborn's synth prowess with the then unknown German punk-electro band "Yello" and emerging talents like "Dream Academy", "The Flowerpot Men", and "The English Beat".
It sucks to say goodbye to a talent that will be sorely missed in my own home to a pretty great extent.
In case you aren't familiar with his work, Hughes was responsible for writing and directing some of the greatest staple teen dramedy films of the 1980's including "Sixteen Candles", "The Breakfast Club", and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". He also wrote and directed several cinematic classics like "Trains, Planes, and Automobiles", "Uncle Buck", and "Weird Science".
Hughes' films often contained eclectic scores by Ira Newborn mixed with excellent while obscure source material, the most memorable probably being the synth-poppy "Bueller", which combined Newborn's synth prowess with the then unknown German punk-electro band "Yello" and emerging talents like "Dream Academy", "The Flowerpot Men", and "The English Beat".
It sucks to say goodbye to a talent that will be sorely missed in my own home to a pretty great extent.
- 8/6/2009
- by noreply@blogger.com (Deane Ogden)
- SCOREcastOnline.com
When Jai asked me to talk about my Gateway Score — the score album that really grabbed me as a child and convinced me that scoring films is what I Had to do for a living — I sort of froze at the thought of the assignment.
"A real composer would talk about John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, or Bernard Herrmann," I thought to myself. "When everyone hears my pick (insert Adam Sandler's famous little-boy-sad-face here)... They're all gonna laugh at me!"
While I love action films and I flip out for science fiction on a pretty regular basis, I have always been the drama guy. I love a great drama, especially one that contains strong writing for the characters coupled by great performances. "Jerry Maguire" might be my favorite film of all-time, simply because of Cameron Crowe's ability to create characters of incredible depth which allowed each actor to carve...
"A real composer would talk about John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, or Bernard Herrmann," I thought to myself. "When everyone hears my pick (insert Adam Sandler's famous little-boy-sad-face here)... They're all gonna laugh at me!"
While I love action films and I flip out for science fiction on a pretty regular basis, I have always been the drama guy. I love a great drama, especially one that contains strong writing for the characters coupled by great performances. "Jerry Maguire" might be my favorite film of all-time, simply because of Cameron Crowe's ability to create characters of incredible depth which allowed each actor to carve...
- 6/30/2009
- by noreply@blogger.com (Deane Ogden)
- SCOREcastOnline.com
A mere 15 years after his feature debut with "Soup for One", Jonathan Kaufer weighs in with his second directorial effort, this awkward screen adaptation of a talky play.
In its depiction of two academic married couples angrily squaring off, "Bad Manners" would like to be a "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" for this decade, but its characters and ideas are irritating rather than provocative, and the net effect is less "Virginia Woolf" than crying wolf. The film recently received its world premiere at the Montreal World Film Festival.
Adapted by David Gilman from his play "Ghost in the Machine", which had a successful off-Broadway run a couple of years back, the film depicts the dayslong encounter between two couples.
Wes (David Strathairn) is a university professor of comparative religion at a nondescript girls' school, while wife Nancy (Bonnie Bedelia) is a musicologist. Nancy's old boyfriend Matt Saul Rubinek), accompanied by his precocious younger girlfriend Kim (Caroleen Feeney), shows up to stay with them while he is in town to deliver an important speech at Harvard. Kim, a computer whiz, is assisting him on his academic project, which involves the bizarre discovery of a centuries-old musical composition in a computer-generated piece of contemporary music.
Although they are outwardly cordial, simmering tensions lie just beneath the surface of the two couples' friendly bickering and bantering. Wes and Nancy's marriage is feeling the strain of his recently being denied tenure, and Wes is further stirred up by Kim's simmering sexuality and flirtatiousness. When $50 turns up missing from Wes' wallet, it results in a series of confrontations that escalate in tension and hostility. When Matt thinks he overhears Wes and Kim making love in the downstairs living room, all hell breaks loose.
Although Gilman's screenplay delivers four sharply observed characters who are brought to vivid life by a highly skilled cast, it never lifts above the picayune in its plot line, situations and dialogue.
Still, Strathairn is particularly effective at conveying his character's underlying hostility, and Feeney, a relative newcomer, invests Kim with a compelling mixture of sultriness and edginess.
BAD MANNERS
Davis Entertainment Classics
in association with
Skyline Entertainment Partners
& Wavecrest Pictures
Director Jonathan Kaufer
Screenplay David Gilman
Producers J. Todd Harris,
Stephen Nemeth, Alan Kaplan
Executive producer John Davis
Co-producers M. Cevin Cathell, Ed Cathell III
Director of photography Denis Maloney
Musical score Ira Newborn
Editor Robin Katz
Color/stereo
Cast:
Wes Westlund David Strathairn
Nancy Westlund Bonnie Bedelia
Matt Carroll Saul Rubinek
Kim Matthews Caroleen Feeney
Professor Harper Julie Harris
Running time -- 87 minutes...
In its depiction of two academic married couples angrily squaring off, "Bad Manners" would like to be a "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" for this decade, but its characters and ideas are irritating rather than provocative, and the net effect is less "Virginia Woolf" than crying wolf. The film recently received its world premiere at the Montreal World Film Festival.
Adapted by David Gilman from his play "Ghost in the Machine", which had a successful off-Broadway run a couple of years back, the film depicts the dayslong encounter between two couples.
Wes (David Strathairn) is a university professor of comparative religion at a nondescript girls' school, while wife Nancy (Bonnie Bedelia) is a musicologist. Nancy's old boyfriend Matt Saul Rubinek), accompanied by his precocious younger girlfriend Kim (Caroleen Feeney), shows up to stay with them while he is in town to deliver an important speech at Harvard. Kim, a computer whiz, is assisting him on his academic project, which involves the bizarre discovery of a centuries-old musical composition in a computer-generated piece of contemporary music.
Although they are outwardly cordial, simmering tensions lie just beneath the surface of the two couples' friendly bickering and bantering. Wes and Nancy's marriage is feeling the strain of his recently being denied tenure, and Wes is further stirred up by Kim's simmering sexuality and flirtatiousness. When $50 turns up missing from Wes' wallet, it results in a series of confrontations that escalate in tension and hostility. When Matt thinks he overhears Wes and Kim making love in the downstairs living room, all hell breaks loose.
Although Gilman's screenplay delivers four sharply observed characters who are brought to vivid life by a highly skilled cast, it never lifts above the picayune in its plot line, situations and dialogue.
Still, Strathairn is particularly effective at conveying his character's underlying hostility, and Feeney, a relative newcomer, invests Kim with a compelling mixture of sultriness and edginess.
BAD MANNERS
Davis Entertainment Classics
in association with
Skyline Entertainment Partners
& Wavecrest Pictures
Director Jonathan Kaufer
Screenplay David Gilman
Producers J. Todd Harris,
Stephen Nemeth, Alan Kaplan
Executive producer John Davis
Co-producers M. Cevin Cathell, Ed Cathell III
Director of photography Denis Maloney
Musical score Ira Newborn
Editor Robin Katz
Color/stereo
Cast:
Wes Westlund David Strathairn
Nancy Westlund Bonnie Bedelia
Matt Carroll Saul Rubinek
Kim Matthews Caroleen Feeney
Professor Harper Julie Harris
Running time -- 87 minutes...
- 9/17/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.